Available for Pre-Order
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Kolfok: Current Availability!
About Kolfok
Our foray into Austria with The Road begins with Stefan Wellanschitz and his Kolfok wines – we’re so excited to welcome them to Ontario this spring (the wines are now available)! We’d heard of these wines a couple of years ago “through the grapevine” and when we visited the vineyards and homestead of Stefan and his family, we discovered the depth of nuance, respect and care that go into the Kolfok wines… which are some of the most exciting and anticipated to hit Ontario this year.
A “Kolfok” is someone who goes against the grain, whether in thought or action. For so many reasons, this is such a fitting name for Stefan’s work – which he carries out while beautifully balancing a tight-rope walk between respecting the past, and creating his own thumbprint for the future. Stefan’s family, on his mum’s side, has been making wine in the town of Neckenmarkt since the early 19th Century (when this area was still Hungarian), so Stefan is the newest generation to take up the family practice. He began making the Kolfok wines 10 years ago, when he was just 23 years old.
Stefan and his family’s cellars are based in the town of Neckenmarkt, which is located in Mittelburgenland – specifically, just south of Lake Neusiedl and right on the Hungarian border (we actually rode through parts of Hungary taking the train south from Vienna to go visit). There’s so much history here, and so much pride in the family’s trade. And rightfully so! This is the only organic-farming family in this part of Burgenland, which as a region is better known for big, overly oaky red wines.
In addition to the family’s long-established, organically-farmed vineyards, and with respect to the Hungarian side of his roots, Stefan also planted a tiny vineyard plot of Furmint on the Austrian side of the border. He farms it organically, of course, and makes an elusive, bone dry Furmint called “Remember.” When his mum, Christine, showed us the vineyard and explained his ethos behind this wine, we saw just how meaningful Stefan’s entire approach was. Here, we saw just how thoughtfully he acknowledges and respects his roots, while continuing to forge his own way forward. Oh… and the wine is spectacularly delicious.
Overall, Kolfok is an exploration of the micro-climates of the beautiful, undulating and varied Wellanschitz vineyards. The major stylistic departure with Kolfok was the lack of oak used (and even Wellanschitz are reserved in their oak usage, also preferring to maintain more overall balance), in addition to very anaerobic winemaking practices (allowing wine to age sur lie without any lees stirring) and using absolutely minimal inputs in the cellar (minimal, if any sulphur, only at bottling if it’s used). While he sometimes plays stylistically (skin contact whites, greater percentages of whole cluster), Stefan generally chooses to use those techniques sparingly, maintaining a more “organic” (pun intended) result rather than creating wines that speak more to stylized winemaking than a sense of place. By practicing such restraints, Stefan showcases beautiful, balanced and complex iterations of terroir throughout this region.